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By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY EIGHT – You don’t have to be rich and famous to come to St. Barts (or St. Barths, or Saint Barthelemy – you’ll see all variations of the name), but definitely being the former will help. This way station for the jet set features the highest of high [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY SEVEN – It’s early Friday morning and we are anchored off the small island of Nevis (pronounced KNEE-vis). Nearby is its larger counterpart, St. Kitts. The waters here are very still and quiet, and of course, deeply blue. The forecast is hot and sunny; with more hot and [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY SIX – We awakened this morning dockside at Roseau on the island of Dominica, “the nature island of the Caribbean.” Sandwiched between Guadeloupe and Martinique, this former British colony, independent since 1978, is almost 300 square miles in size, much of it dense rainforest. We are here just [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY FIVE – Yesterday we were drenched with rain; today, drenched with sunshine! Yes, at long last the sun has made its appearance, just in time for our stop at Iles des Saintes in Guadeloupe. A grouping of eight tiny islands, with the emphasis on “tiny,” many travel guides [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY FOUR – Day four in our quest for sunshine, and still hardly a ray in sight. In fact, anchored just outside Cruz Bay on the picturesque island of St. John, we awoke to rain showers, which have continued on and off throughout the day. Still, it is the [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY THREE – We are now 700 miles from Miami. As we continue on toward St. John, we can’t seem to escape the clouds. A gray overcast with temps in the 60s has been the order of the day so far. Hopefully we’ll encounter sunnier conditions once we arrive [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY TWO – This is the first of two “at sea” days as we head to our first port of call, St. John in the Virgin Islands. Last night we experienced a lot of motion as the ship navigated stout waves and wind. By daylight it had moderated somewhat, [...]

By Gerry Barker ABOARD AZAMARA QUEST, DAY ONE – It’s the first day of our 12-night “Virgin Islands and Frenchmen Voyage” to the West Indies on Azamara Quest, departing from the Port of Miami. This voyage is our first on Azamara, and my wife and I have been eagerly anticipating cruising on a scale that [...]